Crowe

When BancorpSouth Medical Center branch president Vanda Crowe looks out her window, she sees neighborhood streets around her that could use a little TLC.

A job for someone else? Maybe. But instead of waiting for “them” and “they,” “she” took action.

Armed with a jug of weed killer and a shovel, Crowe found herself on a ten by ten concrete island where State Street and Old Canton meet, just steps from her office.

For three hours one Saturday, she shoveled loose gravel and battled the sting of fire ants — and the blistering midday sun — to beautify her little corner of the world. The following weekend, she and BancorpSouth personal banker Wes McManus spent another four hours putting the same clean-up job on a concrete median on Old Canton Road, stretching from their building to northern neighbor, Wier Boerner Allin Architecture.

And just this week Crowe “made the block,” spraying weed killer on patches of street-side overgrowth, helping to get the ball rolling, she says, for others to beautify their corners of the world.

Crowe’s new bank branch, completed earlier this year, will celebrate a ribbon cutting on May 4 during Arts, Eats & Beats, and she says, she can’t stand for their guests to see an unkempt curb.

“I take pride in the community,” she explained. “It’s all about being involved and doing the little things. Those add up to be the big things. This is part of our responsibility as human beings to take care of what we’ve got.”

Further north, at Kolb’s Cleaners on State Street, Crowe said she noticed a clean-up effort underway there, too. “If we can just get everybody to be on board,” she said, “can you imagine how great our streets will look? It will be so inviting.”

Crowe said she hopes a little here and a little there gives every business owner “the fever” to give even the smallest of facelifts to their property.

“We see families jogging and walking through here. With us cleaning up, you feel better about the community. I can’t think of anything better than for it to all start now.”

This month, Find It In Fondrenâ„¢ recognizes Crowe’s efforts and names BancorpSouth the inaugural “Fondren Business of the Month.” We’ll keep an eye open for others with Crowe’s enthusiasm and drive and recognize them in future months.